Terming employment generation as one of his priorities, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said Thursday that the MSME sector offers huge potential and the government is ready to come out with special policies to promote import-substitute products.

The road, transport, highways and MSME minister also urged investors from Singapore to tap huge opportunities that India offers and said 22 green expressways will see investments of about Rs 10 lakh crore.

Addressing the India-Singapore symposium, organised by CII here, Gadkari said: "One of the most important things is that we have to raise the employment potential and it is my priority" both in rural and urban area.

The minister said micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) have huge employment potential and the government is especially looking to promote products that could be import-substitute.

"There are a lot of products in MSME... My suggestion is to identify import-substitute products and then, we can make special policies. This will reduce imports," he said.

Urging investors from Singapore to come forward for investment here, the minister said, "The government is building 22 green expressways which will have investments of Rs 10 lakh crore." 

He also said Dwarka Expressway, which is to be built at Rs 10,000 crore, will be expedited.

The minister said 250 road side facilities and 250 petrol pumps are planned besides logistics parks and smart cities, among others, which offer huge investment opportunities.

About the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), he said the government is looking at financial models for a joint venture with the NHAI to address any funding issues.

The minister also said massive work has been done on Ganga and its cleaning will be done by March 2020.

Published On : 20-06-2019

Source : Business Standard